Kimberley Mannion
GIBRALTAR has been grey listed for strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes.
The Rock has joined the United Arab Emirates on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, which will subject it to additional monitoring.
The move comes after FATF concluded Gibraltar is not issuing fines to money launderers in line with the prescribed penalties or investigating intensely enough other actors involved including lawyers.
The Gibraltarian government reflected that the position was regrettable, but highlighted the progress made since the last report, in which Gibraltar received 78 recommended actions, a number that has now been reduced to just two.
This makes Gibraltar the territory with the shortest action plan to be monitored by the international body.
FATF has set the date of May 2023 for Gibraltar to improve on the necessary points, and the government says it is fully committed to “show compliance with the timescale given”.
Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner Andrew Lyman expressed confusion at the move and stated that it would not prompt authorities to issue more sanctions.
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